Bruce -- In my mind, this can be analogized to the Sony Betamax case. Yes, a general purpose copying device has made a complete copy along the path towards doing something else that's clearly a fair use. In Sony, the fair use is time shifting. Here, the fair use is snipping. If we say "no complete copies ever," then just about everything a search engine or computer does needs permission. Like the Netcom case, that's just too much liability for the system to bear. It won't (and shouldn't) work to impose such a mountain of liability. Your point about burdens is a fair one. Opt out isn't the way copyright law has worked in the past. But, again, when it comes to computers and search engines, and the opt outs are so easy, it may be the way forward. Susan